Question

The genetic code is said to be unambiguous. Explain what this means and why it is important.

Answer 1

Genetic code is unambiguous. This means that one code can code only for one amino acid. A single cofon can never code for more than a single amino acid. For example: CUU can code only for leucine. ( Though leucine can be coded by more than one codon, the same codon cannot code for more than one amino acid).

This specificity of codons is essential for the proper translation of genetic code to obtain functional proteins that are desirable. If the specifity is altered, it will lead to formation of abnormal protein sequence.